Elizabeth Ingalls Dog Behavior and Training

11/04/2026

A little play, a lot of great communication! 🩷Watch Phoenix and foster pup Lorelai navigate playtime—I slowed down part of the clip so you can really see and hear how they talk to each other.

A little context on these two:
🐾 Phoenix (9yo): Post-CCL repair and managing some arthritis, so full-contact body slams are definitely off the menu. He’s strictly an “I chase you, you chase me” gentleman.
🐾 Lorelai (reported 7yo, but with much younger vibes): Bouncy, spirited, and would thrive with an adoptive playmate who loves wrestling and romping.

Even though they have different play styles, notice how beautifully they communicate, set boundaries, and end the interaction peacefully on their own terms.

Miss Lorelai is looking for her forever home! She’s being fostered here in CT with me. And I can’t say enough nice things about her- potty trained, comfortable being contained in a x-pen, wonderful with all humans, enjoys life and extremely affectionate. She’s ready to be the love of someone’s life. If you have any questions about her, just ask. She’s available through National Great Pyrenees Rescue

10/28/2026

Day 3: Foster Lorelai has shown herself to be quite respectful of Phoenix so I decided to do off leash time outside.

Entrances and exits had been completely separate but I decided to have them walk through the house to go outside together. Phoenix has lots of practice of me cueing him to move away and he was able to back up and give her some space. Had he not been able to do that, I would have paused-have him go out-and then come back and let her out. Historically, Phoenix can have big feelings about transitions so being able to read him and make sure he can respond to me are crucial for success.

Here’s a clip of them outside- they’ve been doing lots of parallel activities. Sniffing the ground, air scenting and observing the field, just being in close proximity. Here Lorelei does a bit of checking P out with a bid for interaction with that waggy, flirty tail. Phoenix being who he is- lets her know he’s not interested and they both move along. What calming signals do you see from both dogs in the 2nd video?

Continuing to take things slowly allow time for a friendship to develop. 🩷

10/25/2026

It’s the first time in close to 10 years that I’ve had a foster*. In the past, my group of dogs was incredibly well socialized. I could introduce multiple fosters into the home with minimal effort. I know how lucky I was.

Now I have my darling Phoenix, whom I’ll just call “behaviorally sensitive”. He’s a little awkward and slower to make friends. But he can and does make friends, and once he does, he’ll play beautifully, become quite gentle and truly seems to enjoy their company.

Since we lost Darwin in the spring, Phoenix has struggled. In all my years of having multiple dogs, he was truly heartbroken (as was I-well I still am). So I figured perhaps fostering could help. It’s a way to help a dog in need and see if having another dog in the home enriches Phoenix’s life.

This is where slow controlled introductions and management come into play. When I say slow introductions, I mean over the course of days-perhaps longer. It means managing the environment so they only have access to each other in neutral settings, and they spend time in proximity without interacting.

So to start, they’re separated in the home with 2 layers of separation, using a variety of configurations. She’s in her ex-pen, but he can’t access it because it’s blocked by a table and gate. When they eat, they have no visual access to each other. When they go outside in the yard they’re separated by a fence. Entering and exiting the house means one waits at a gate while the other enters the door.

Is it a lot of work? Yes. But it’s also less work than repairing a relationship. Right now, I’m aiming for both of them to feel safe and secure. I’m cultivating times where they can share time together outside, and we’ll build from there.

Just a reminder that it’s ok to take it slow.

*I fostered a mom and pups, but they had their own space away from my dogs.

09/09/2026

Look at this very good boy 👀 Mr Flowers took his guardian job very seriously, and considered his mums friends “the enemy”- which you can imagine put a bit of a damper on their social life. We’ve worked on teaching Flowers that he can chill when people are over, there’s no threats to be dealt with.

Success with LGD breeds doesn’t always mean that the dog makes friends with every human that comes over. Success is learning that guests are not a threat and that it’s ok to relax and observe.

Great work! And if Mr Flowers isnt the cutest name for an I don’t know what is.

08/27/2026

One of my favorite silly little things that Phoenix does

07/24/2026

For all you giant breed lovers- how freaking cool is this?? My client and her 125 lb are out for a ride on their Bunch Bikes - Cargo Bikes

Not only is this just plan fun- a bike like this can allow for you to zoom past crowded areas and get your dog to a relaxing and less populated area. This can be especially great for reactive dogs.

Who else is gonna put this on their Christmas list?

07/03/2026

Counter Surfing is something that clients bring up often and ask how to I get my dog to stop this. The answer is often deeper than simply teaching a skill- it’s about understanding, meeting needs, preventing, reinforcing AND teaching a skill. Let me know if you have any questions.

06/28/2026

This is serious- if this comes to pass- take caution- no walks unless it’s at dawn or after the sun has set. Outside training sessions and heavy play/exercises in this heat are not safe. At home be sure to have ac and/or fans running. Access to fresh water is essential and know the signs of distress. If your dog is double coated, brachycephalic , dark colored, obese, a senior or health compromised they are at higher risk of having a heat related emergency- know the signs and know that dogs’ temps can continue to rise even when they’ve stopped being active. Ensure the have time to cool down. Heavy continued panting while at rest can be a sign that your dog needs intervention. Not enough people take this seriously 😐

06/13/2026

For the folks who have dogs on meds- who might not be getting the relief they need- here’s some info from a study you can read and discuss with your vet 💊

Hot off the research press - presented by at the 2026 Veterinary Behavior Symposium in Seattle this week!

CONCLUSIONS:
Preliminary results of our study indicate that Reconcile - the FDA reviewed veterinary formulation of fluoxetine may have advantages in treating behavior problems in dogs without food allergies over generic fluoxetine, particularly among dogs that have not demonstrated improvement on fluoxetine.

Ask your veterinarian about switching to Reconcile.

06/09/2026

Creating patterns and a strong reinforcement history is so important for real life. All of my dogs have been heavily reinforced for pausing at the gate (and a couple other places). They can sit, stand, whatever they choose but our focus was always on stopping at certain places. This has paid off in dividends more times than I can count. My husband didn’t close the gate and I didn’t realize Phoenix was outside. So you can see how pleased I was when I saw him standing there. We got there not from endless formal training sessions but through real life repetition and reinforcing in was that my dog enjoys. Sometimes the reward is going to hop in the car, sometimes it’s food, and others times it’s some petting in a way he specifically enjoys, other times it’s grabbing a leash and then going on a walk.

Learning doesn’t always have to be in a formal setting and reinforcement should be varied and meaningful to your dog. Give them choice when and where ever you can. (what does it matter to me if he sits in this case?) Spend your time working on behaviors that are specifically meaningful for your living scenario.